It’s party time for QE2

After three years sitting idly in port at Dubai, the former Cunard liner QE2 will soon be welcoming guests aboard once again. Still no nearer to being converted to a luxury hotel – which was the original plan when it was bought for $100 million – the ship is to host a VIP party on New Year’s Eve.
An Emirates company, Global Event Management, has hired the ship for an invitation-only, black-tie event. In decidedly over-the-top Dubai style, they claim it will be one of the most exclusive New Year celebrations in the world and that among the guests will be “royals, dignitaries and celebrities,” although they decline to name anyone on the guest list.
QE2 fan Rob Lightbody, who has been an ardent campaigner for the preservation of the ship, is enthusiastic about the plans – but he is not expecting to be invited to travel from his home in Scotland.
He says QE2 is “still in fabulous condition, but without any guests, parties, food and entertainment, she lacks the buzz that she had for 40 years on the seas. This will all return for one fabulous night, by the sounds of it.”
►Tickets have now been put on sale: VIP places are about £525; to get unlimited food and drink costs double that.